We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. Learn more.
Help us keep TheSkyLive 100% free & ads-free, donate now!
Home
Search Objects
Major Solar System Objects
Comets
Asteroids
Spacecrafts
Star Maps
Orbits
public  Greenwich, UK Greenwich, UK  ⓘ
TimezoneEurope/London
Sunrise: 7:08 
Transit: 12:13 
Sunset: 17:20
sleep   (Nighttime)  
What's Visible Now • Tonight Timeline
Search  close
Comets » 

Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)

Above the horizon.  Rise: 11:43 | Tran: 18:41 | Set: 1:43
Alt: 29.57°   Az: 250.20°   Direction: West-South-West

Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 843,419,708.0 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 04h 37m 15s and the Declination is +11° 41’ 35” (apparent coordinates). The predicted magnitude of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is 26.64 (data provided by JPL Horizons).

Finder Charts

Map showing Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in Taurus on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
Sky map showing Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in Taurus on February, 18 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees. View in interactive sky chart

High precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)
RA: 04h 35m 51s
Dec: +11° 38’ 36”
Deep sky finder chart for Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS). Field of view: 60x40 arcmins. View in deep sky object tracker

Also check out Where is Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Celestial Coordinates

Apparent

04h 37m 15s
+11° 41’ 35”
03h 46m 43s
08h 23m 58s

J2000

04h 35m 51s
+11° 38’ 36”

Additional Information

Taurus
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
26.64

The observed values of Magnitude, Coma Diameter and Tail Length are derived from the most recent observation recorded at the Comet Observers Database. The value of Predicted Magnitude comes from the JPL Horizons ephemerides service and, in the case of comets, might be inaccurate given the highly dynamic and unpredictable behavior of these objects. When available, please refer to the Observed Magnitude value and consider the Predicted Magnitude as a directional indication. We acknowledge with thanks the comet observations from the COBS Comet Observation Database contributed by observers worldwide and used in this table to report recent comet observations.

Rise and Set Times

Today's rise, transit and set times of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 78.3°
Max altitude: 50.2°
Azimuth: 281.7°
  • C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is above the horizon from Greenwich, UK.
  • Right now it is placed in the West-South-West direction at an altitude of 29.57° above the horizon.
  • Given its current magnitude, C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) is visible only through long exposure photography.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Distance from Earth

The distance of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth is currently 843,419,708.0 kilometers, equivalent to 5.6379125188 Astronomical Units. Light takes 46m 53.345s to travel from Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) and arrive to us.

843,419,708.0
5.6379125188
46m 53.345s

The following chart shows the distance of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach

Between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) to Earth happens on Mon Nov 6 2023 at a distance of 1.184162 Astronomical Units, or 177,148,157 kilometers:

Mon Nov 6 2023
177,148,157
1.184162

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS), according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) as a function of time

Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) at epoch 30 September 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460218.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.97597290
Orbit inclination i 20.42341784°
Perihelion distance q 1.06155253 AU
158,805,999 km
Aphelion distance Q 87.30138993 AU
13,060,102,069 km
Semi-major axis a 44.18147123 AU
6,609,454,034 km
Orbital period period 293.6760 years
107,265.1606 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2023-Oct-15 12:00:52
2,460,233.0006 JD
Next perihelion transit 2317-Jun-21 15:52
2,567,498.1612 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 78.507012223681°
Longitude of the ascending node node 230.73194326925°
Mean anomaly M 359.95133350316°
Mean motion n 0.00335617°/day

Orbit Visualization

Orbit Diagram of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS)
View Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) in the 3D Solar System Simulator

15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Comet C/2023 S2 (ATLAS) computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2025 Feb 11 04h 36m 53s +11° 32’ 16” 26.51 Taurus
2025 Feb 12 04h 36m 54s +11° 33’ 20” 26.53 Taurus
2025 Feb 13 04h 36m 55s +11° 34’ 28” 26.55 Taurus
2025 Feb 14 04h 36m 56s +11° 35’ 36” 26.56 Taurus
2025 Feb 15 04h 36m 59s +11° 36’ 46” 26.58 Taurus
2025 Feb 16 04h 37m 02s +11° 37’ 58” 26.60 Taurus
2025 Feb 17 04h 37m 06s +11° 39’ 10” 26.61 Taurus
2025 Feb 18 04h 37m 10s +11° 40’ 24” 26.63 Taurus
2025 Feb 19 04h 37m 15s +11° 41’ 40” 26.64 Taurus
2025 Feb 20 04h 37m 21s +11° 42’ 56” 26.66 Taurus
2025 Feb 21 04h 37m 28s +11° 44’ 13” 26.68 Taurus
2025 Feb 22 04h 37m 35s +11° 45’ 32” 26.69 Taurus
2025 Feb 23 04h 37m 43s +11° 46’ 52” 26.71 Taurus
2025 Feb 24 04h 37m 52s +11° 48’ 13” 26.72 Taurus

Additional Resources